Abstract Cryptography, which has a history going back many centuries, is currently experiencing a transition from the classical paradigm to a quantum one. Using bibliometrics, the dynamics of development and the ratio between three branches of cryptography—classical, postquantum, and quantum—in the period 1990–2020 are considered; the restructuring of the crypto-sphere in favor of the quantum paradigm since 2015 is noted. The world leaders in quantum cryptography research are industrialized countries, including the G7 group and China, and at the institutional level, leading universities, academic organizations, technology institutes, as well as large corporations, especially from Japan and the United States, and military research institutions, especially from the United States and China. The features of the quantum-cryptographic ecosystems of several countries are identified. It is shown that, in Russia, research is concentrated in the academic sector, universities and specialized organizations—the Academy of Cryptography of the Russian Federation, the Russian Quantum Center. By contrast with leading countries, the contribution of domestic corporations and small businesses is still limited. Geopolitical aspects of creating quantum-cryptographic security have been discussed. The Web of Science Core Collection database is used as a source for bibliometric analysis.
Abstract Cryptography, which has a history going back many centuries, is currently experiencing a transition from the classical paradigm to a quantum one. Using bibliometrics, the dynamics of development and the ratio between three branches of cryptography—classical, postquantum, and quantum—in the period 1990–2020 are considered; the restructuring of the crypto-sphere in favor of the quantum paradigm since 2015 is noted. The world leaders in quantum cryptography research are industrialized countries, including the G7 group and China, and at the institutional level, leading universities, academic organizations, technology institutes, as well as large corporations, especially from Japan and the United States, and military research institutions, especially from the United States and China. The features of the quantum-cryptographic ecosystems of several countries are identified. It is shown that, in Russia, research is concentrated in the academic sector, universities and specialized organizations—the Academy of Cryptography of the Russian Federation, the Russian Quantum Center. By contrast with leading countries, the contribution of domestic corporations and small businesses is still limited. Geopolitical aspects of creating quantum-cryptographic security have been discussed. The Web of Science Core Collection database is used as a source for bibliometric analysis.
As quantum computing progresses, longstanding security assumptions that form the foundations of today's digital infrastructure are being undermined, and new cryptographic mechanisms are needed that can resist attacks from a quantum computer. In this study, the bibliometric analysis of 1346 Web of Science Core Collection documents from 2015 to 2026 have been used to map the development, intellectual structure and emerging cybersecurity applications of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny and VOSviewer were used to perform performance analysis and science mapping, including annual production, citation dynamics, author productivity, institutional and country contributions, source concentration, keyword co-occurrence, thematic positioning, and topic evolution. The results indicate that research has accelerated quickly, from less than 10 publications per year in 2015-2016 to 456 in 2025, and that 2026 is a partial indexing year. Citation influence is dominated by China and the United States, and the most visible affiliations include the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State University System of Florida, and Florida Atlantic University. IEEE Access is the leading publication outlet. Keyword and thematic analyses show that the field has moved from foundational cryptanalysis and mathematical constructions toward lattice-based cryptography, hardware acceleration, NIST standardization, CRYSTALS-Kyber/ML-KEM, authentication, blockchain, Internet of Things, and migration-oriented cybersecurity. The study further identifies a post-standardization shift from algorithm competition to implementation assurance, crypto-agility, interoperability, side-channel resilience, and sector-specific deployment. These findings provide an updated evidence base for researchers, cybersecurity practitioners, standards bodies, and organizations planning quantum-safe migration.
Quantum computing provides the pathway to dismantle the security provided by cryptography especially classical public-key systems due to the emergence of Shor’s algorithm. This emerging threat necessitates the development of new security paradigms that are quantum-resistant. Consequently, two new approaches have emerged as prominent solutions, namely Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which relies on quantum mechanical principles for security, and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), which relies on classical cryptography for quantum resistance. This paper presents an extensive analysis of the global research trends in quantum cryptography and post-quantum cryptographic algorithms by incorporating the use of both bibliometric analysis and comparative analysis. The paper relies on a dataset collected from the Web of Science database from 2010 to 2025. The findings of the paper demonstrate an increase in scientific production in the field of quantum cryptography, with post-quantum cryptography emerging as a new dominant area coinciding with standardization by NIST, whereas quantum key distribution continues to evolve with new developments in quantum communication.
With the emergence of quantum computers, classical cryptography is facing significant challenges. Address this compelling problem, it is the need of hour to develop Post Quantum cryptography (PQC), or quantum-resistant cryptography. PQC is a rapidly evolving field in computer science. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) posted a call for inviting new generation of PQC algorithms. This paper aims to explore the significance and relevance of PQC in the future. Performing bibliometric analysis is important for gathering the necessary information about this discipline. Performance analysis and science mapping are done to extract valuable insights from the dataset. The dataset includes 14,230 records extracted from the Scopus database. The analysis is done using qualitative as well as quantitative approaches. The quantity approach focuses on the number of publications and document type analysis of the publications, while the quality approach includes the citation analysis of research publications. Bibliographic coupling is also carried out to understand the relationship in a visualisation format between authors, documents, sources, and countries. After performing the analysis, it has been observed that China has made the most significant contribution to the field of PQC. Additionally, the most highly cited author identified is Nicolas Gisin from the University of Geneva. This study provides valuable insights into prominent keywords, emerging trends and key research areas within the PQC domain, offering a comprehensive overview of the current research landscape.
Lattice-based cryptography’s robust theoretical and Mathematical foundations and resilience to quantum attacks have made it a prominent post-quantum security aspect. Latticebased cryptography has emerged as a critical area of research in response to the growing threat of quantum computing to classical cryptographic schemes. This bibliometric evaluation uses citation sources like Scopus to examine worldwide research trends in lattice-based cryptography from 2009 to 2024. We investigate research hotspots, author partnerships, publication growth, and institutional contributions using visualization tools such as VOSviewer. According to the report, a consistent increase in publications indicates that post-quantum cryptography is becoming increasingly popular among academics and businesses. Furthermore, it explored the global collaboration patterns and the interdisciplinary nature of lattice-based cryptography research. The results underscore the field’s importance in developing secure, quantum-resistant cryptographic systems and suggest directions for future research to address challenges in efficiency, scalability, and real-world applicability.
History repeats itself. Quantum cryptography has started a revolution of quantum computing and has repeated the days of Einstein's research paper on “Theory of Relativity,” which changed the world's perceptions of physics completely written based on Newton's laws. Quantum cryptography is going to change the definition of computers right from scratch. The last century was witness of a space race between US and USSR. This century would be witness of quantum computing race between US and China. It has changed the dimensions of operating systems, software, hardware, databases, and applications. Quantum computers are in a phase to replace the conventional computers and they are reaching to the level called quantum supremacy. The chapter covers the details of the basic principles and work methodology of quantum cryptography, the contribution of various pioneers, advantages over classical cryptography, its applications, future scope, and limitations simultaneously. The chapter covers the contribution of leading countries and organizations in quantum revolution.
The rapid development of quantum computing is one of the most transformative technological developments of the twenty-first century with profound implications for cybersecurity, digital governance and the future of secure communication systems. Traditional cryptographic infrastructures have fundamentally underpinned digital trust in banking, healthcare, defense, cloud computing, and global communication networks, but the advent of quantum computational power has led to increasing concern about the future of existing standards for encryption. This qualitative study critically examines the changing relationship between quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography through an analysis of the technological, institutional, ethical and governance challenges in the transition to quantum-secure digital systems. The study adopts an interpretivist and exploratory qualitative orientation that aims to understand how governments, cybersecurity experts, technology institutions and policy frameworks are responding to the disruptive potential of quantum technologies. Data were collected using thematic analysis of academic literature, cybersecurity policy documents, archival technological reviews, expert commentaries, institutional reports, and emerging case studies related to the development of quantum-resistant cryptography. The results show that quantum computing presents serious threats to existing public-key cryptographic systems, especially in terms of theoretical abilities of Shor’s algorithm and future quantum decryption models. Meanwhile, the paper outlines post-quantum cryptography as a vital avenue for safeguarding digital privacy, institutional credibility, and cybersecurity robustness in an ever more networked society. The analysis also points to ongoing challenges around technological readiness, regulatory uncertainty, global standardization, resource inequality and ethical issues around surveillance, privacy and digital sovereignty. Yet, the research points to the potential for secure digital transformation, resilient cybersecurity governance, and the re-inventing of future communication infrastructure through post-quantum innovation. The research finds that the transition to quantum-secure systems is not just a technological challenge, but a multidimensional governance and policy challenge requiring international cooperation, ethical foresight and proactive institutional change.